


You Don't Know Jack

by Spina



Category: Monster High
Genre: Drabbles, Gen, Occasional swearing, normal is subjective
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2015-05-19
Updated: 2015-10-03
Packaged: 2018-03-31 06:28:52
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 5
Words: 7,704
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/3967921
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Spina/pseuds/Spina
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>There are no normies at Monster High.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Jack Attack

**Author's Note:**

> This is just a series of drabbles focusing on Jackson, exploring varying possibilities with his character that we'll probably never see happen in the canon works. Some stories will be connected, most won't be.

He shouldn't have come to school today. He should have known better when he woke up feeling a little tetchy.

The hot water was taking too long so his morning shower was lukewarm at best, the last of the milk for breakfast had gone sour, he had stepped in the only puddle on an otherwise dry street which had soaked right through his shoe and into his sock, there had been two pop tests at school, and it was dodge ball during PhysDead.

He had felt it, the anger. With every little thing that went wrong it gained a stronger hold on him.

He didn't like getting angry. He usually ended up doing something he'd regret later when his rage had subsided and rational thought took over again. Also, people tended to be afraid of him afterwards. He didn't like it when people were afraid of him.

He was a nice guy, dammit. There was no need for everyone to run away in terror.

It's why he tried so hard to be unimposing. But everyone has a breaking point.

He finally reached his limit during the break between classes. The final straw came in the form of a hulking shadow and warm breath at the back of his neck as the Minotaur snorted in derision at him.

"Of course this would happen today," he mumbled to himself. Then, more loudly, "Don't, just don't. I'm really not in the mood for this."

"What's the matter? Poor, little normie going to cry?"

Red consumed his vision and the snapping sound in his head drowned out the tortured metal screaming as he ripped his locker door off it's hinges.

The moment when the broadside of the destroyed locker door slammed into Manny's face was more satisfying than that time he beat Ghoulia on a test.

The other students froze in mid motion as scrawny Jackson Jekyll toppled the resident bully.

JJ

Manny backpedaled with the blow and took another to the throat for his effort. He hit the ground, too dazed and confused to move out of the way when a foot planted itself in the middle of his chest. Manny found himself unable to move under the pressure of it.

The destroyed locker door slammed into the ground just above Manny's head, looking for all the world like a tombstone at his grave.

Manny's head was pulled up slightly by his nose ring and angry blue eyes filled his vision.

"Listen up and listen good," a voice like acid growled at him. "When I say I'm not in the mood, I mean it. Don't fuck with me anymore or next time I'll make hamburger out of you. Got it, Lunchmeat?"

A strangled whimper left Manny's throat and he gave as best a nod as he could before finally saying, "Yeah, I got it man. No problem. Whatever you say."

Manny's whole body was trembling. Those frightening, blue eyes continued to stare him down for a few more seconds before he was released.

Jackson grabbed hold of his locker door, pulling it free of the floor and scattering shards of tile and concrete in the process. A deep gouge was left in the floor, not but half an inch from Manny's scalp.

The human boy took a deep breath in an attempt to calm himself, then looked around at the stunned and horrified faces of his classmates. Then at his broken locker and the mangled door in his hand.

"Fuck!" he said through gritted teeth. "Now I've got to get a new locker. This day just keeps getting better and better."

"Just what is going on here?" The booming voice of the headmistress echoed through the halls and Jackson cringed, the rage draining from him and leaving him feeling exhausted. Another reason he hated getting angry.

"Everyone, get to class. It's all over now, there is nothing to see here." Bloodgood ordered. The students quickly finished gathering up their books and made a hasty exit. Manny scrambled to his feet and joined them.

Jackson tried to slink away with the crowd, but her steely voice stopped him dead in his tracks.

"Not you, Jekyll. You're to come with me to my office. I think we need to have a little chat." She had called him by his last name. Ouch. He was in so much trouble.

"Yes ma'am."

JJ

She hadn't taken her head off yet. A sure sign that she was being very serious. It was actually rather intimidating.

Jackson stared down at his sneakers so he wouldn't have to look her in the eye. Some part of him wondered at that. He was fairly certain real normal people would be more frightened by her when her head was off.

"You know," she began. "That floor was specially designed to withstand the pressure of a wide variety of monsters constantly stomping down on it. It was tested to hold up under the combined weight of four giants without so much as a crack. And you managed to put a hole in it three inches deep with a piece of scrap metal."

He slunk down in his seat.

"I would say that it's impressive, really, but the damage is actually quite extensive and will be costly to repair."

He gulped. His parents were going to be mad. He had promised to try to keep it together this time.

"Also, there's the issue with fighting on school grounds. That alone is worth two weeks suspension, the threat of, what was it again, 'turning another student into hamburger' would normally result in expulsion."

He cringed again, waiting for the inevitable.

"But, considering your past history with Mr. Taur as well as this being the first, and hopefully only, outburst in an otherwise impeccable scholastics record, I'm willing to reduce the sentence to two weeks detention."

He perked up at that, the first smile of the day and words of thanks forming on his lips. She took off her head and rested it on her desk. He relaxed a bit and asked, "So, I'm not going to be expelled?"

"No. I will be calling your parents, however."

And once again he descended back down into the bleak emotional hole he had created for himself. He hung his head.

"Honestly, I was wondering how long you would manage to hold out. I didn't think you'd last as long as you have, from what I was told of your last enrollment at a public school."

"You mean, you knew this whole time?" He gave her a betrayed look.

"Of course I did. Your mother was very upfront about your families anger management issues. She thought it best to warn me in advance so I would be better prepared for a worst case scenario."

"A worst case scenario? It's just an adrenalin boost, not a nuclear explosion."

She leveled him with a stare that made him look away again.

"Okay, so it might be a bit more than that and I may have overdone it a bit." The look intensified.

"A lot," he corrected. "I was having a bad day," he finished lamely.

"Be that as it may, that is still no excuse for such an outburst. Your detentions start tonight. And next time something is upsetting you, just come to me or one of your teachers. We are always here for the students, no matter what your unique needs are."

"Yes, Ma'am. I wouldn't have really hurt him. No matter how mad I was. I'm not like Mom. I do have some restraint."

"So it would seem. Now," she handed him a hall pass and absentee note, "go to the admissions office and see about getting a new locker, then head to class."

He accepted the pieces of paper and headed to the door.

"And Jackson." He paused. "Try not to loose your temper again. While the students might not be harmed, I don't know that the school would survive it."

"Yes, Ma'am." He sent her a mock salute and exited her office. Today wasn't such a bad day after all.


	2. Jackass

The cars all slowed down, passengers and drivers alike turning their heads to stare. Every last one of them, whether they be human or monster.

It was nerve racking and he wished the ground would swallow him whole whenever a dropped jaw was visible through the windows. Anger and embarrassment colored his neck and ears crimson.

A little girl pointed excitedly out the back window, drawing the attention of another child to gawk as well. It wasn't enough to make him completely loose his cool just yet, but his patience was wearing thin.

"Would you guys hurry it up already? How long does it take to change a tire?" His tone was rushed and had more bite to it then he normally allowed, but being in the spotlight, shared though it was, was not something he actually enjoyed. Besides, it was really just him everyone was staring at in gobsmacked wonder.

"Cool it bro, we're almost done. One of the bolts was rusted on." Deuce's reply was punctuated by the blown tire hitting the ground with a loud thump.

"Quit complaining, all you have to do is stand there." Clawd grunted as he hefted the bad tire around to the trunk of his car.

The tire had blown on the way to picking the ghouls up for a group date, if they didn't hurry they were going to late. While Frankie wouldn't care and Draculaura would be disappointed but shrug it off, Cleo would have their heads if they missed even the opening trailers of the movie.

Deuce leaned back, stretching out a kink in his back as Clawd rolled the spare over.

"It's a good thing you had a spare. I'd be in so much trouble if we had to cancel this."

"I know what you mean. Draculaura's been psyched about it for weeks now. I thought for sure we'd end up in the dog house when I saw the jack was missing. We'd never get this done in time without one." Clawd lined up the tire and slid it on. Deuce began screwing the bolts back in place.

"Yeah," he said with a smirk. "Good thing we had spare one of those too." The two monsters grinned as they looked to their "normie" companion.

"I heard that. Some friends you two assholes are." Jackson snorted from his place, eye twitching and trying very hard not to clench his fist around the underside of the driver side door. If he did that, they might have trouble opening it and be even later than they already were.

Another car slowed down. Another set of motorists, a woman and teenaged boy this time, stared out the window with open mouths at the normal looking human boy standing at the side of the road, one hand propping up the entire side of a large car while a gorgon and werewolf changed a tire.

"So, if this is being an asshole, then what do call it when you hang out with someone for a year and only find out through a gossip blog that he can bench press a school bus?" Clawd ask, all pretense of casualness replaced with accusation. He considered the other boy a friend and not being trusted with that knowledge had stung a bit.

Jackson looked away, avoiding eye contact. He knew it was coming, the retaliation for letting his friends think he didn't have any powers or abilities that were purely his. He just wished it hadn't been quite so public as this.

Really, being used like this was a part of why he tended not to tell people. "I can't bench press a school bus, it'd break in half due to uneven distribution of mass."

Deuce made an annoyed sound in the back of his throat, then volunteered an answer to Clawd's question. "A Jackass."

Clawd howled with laughter, Deuce smirked as he finished securing the last bolt. Jackson let go of the car, letting it hit the ground with a bit more force than was probably good for it.

"Jerks. We're wasting time," then with a smirk of his own, "It's not my ghoulfriend who'll pitch a royal fit over missing the opening." Deuce stopped laughing.

And with the roadside oddity no longer on display, the cars carried on.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This is a follow up to Jack Attack. Obviously, the events of that story would have made great fodder for Spectra's blog. There probably won't be many chapters that take place following this particular story line. I just figured a follow up covering what some of the other characters thought about Jackson's little outburst was needed. That and the image of scrawny Jackson holding up a car while the other two change a tire as onlookers gawk amuses me.


	3. Jackpot

He was pleasantly buzzed, lost in a haze of wisping smoke and the latest hit song from his favorite band pounding from his head phones when the door opened. If he hadn't been a little high, both figuratively and literarily, he might have been worried about getting caught. As it was, he just watched with a hooded gaze as the door opened and a cement block moved itself to prop open the door jam, which wasn't necessary, he'd jammed the lock when he came up, but he supposed his unexpected company didn't know about that.

In fact, he was fairly certain by this point that the other student had no idea he was there, which was kind of funny considering who had joined him.

From his position on the roof over the access door he watched as a cigarette winked into existence, followed a moment later by a zippo. The lighter floated up to the end of the coffin nail and sparked a few times, but never properly caught.

"Damn. Forgot to refill," said the disembodied voice.

Well, he figured, they were both up there for similar reasons, he might has well help a bro out.

JJ

Invisi Billy cursed as he dropped the lighter and glared at the end of his cigarette. It was times like this that he really wished he was a fire elemental instead of an invisible boy. Then he could just light the damn thing with a thought.

It was turning out to be a stressful day and after a fight with his ghoulfriend he really needed this smoke to help him mellow out. He leaned back against the tower wall with a sigh, useless cigarette still dangling from his lips.

A hand reached down from behind him and one figure tapped the end of his cancer stick. The cigarette dutifully glowed red. He blinked as his shocked mind took a moment to process what had just happened while drawing in a lung full of tar. Well, speak of the devil.

There were a small handful of fire elementals at the school and none of them where that shade of pale peach.

He turned visible and looked up into the dull eyed stare of the school's only normie. He took another drag of his cigarette and mentally corrected himself. The school's only supposed normie.

"Thanks dude." He probably should have been surprised or made some kind of big deal about this, but the prospect of getting his nicotine fix had calmed him down enough to not freak out. That or he was just in some kind of shock.

"No problem," Jackson said.

"So, don't you have to be Holt to do that?"

"Usually." The placid tone and lack of response to the mention of his alter ego drew Invisi Billy's full attention. That was when he noticed the joint. And the head phones.

"So why not now?"

"Cannabinoids are fun things. I'd give you a long, drawn out explanation about it, but you'd probably lose interest before I've finished the first sentence."

"Are you seriously telling me that smoking pot, what, puts you back in one piece?"

"More or less. Though I'm not entirely sure I appreciate the implication that I'm broken."

"So why not do it more often?"

"Dude, you serious? We're high schoolers, there is no way I'm taking the risk of the others finding out that I have access to marijuana, let alone that I occasionally enjoy a hit. Everyone would be bothering me, either to stop me or to share. Never mind what would happen if a teacher found out. That and my grades tend to slip if I do it more than once month," He paused a second, a suddenly accusing glare gracing his features, then added. "Why am I defending myself to the guy who's willingly inhaling cancer? At least mine's all natural."

"Good point." Invisi Billy looked down at his cigarette and winced a little, the irony of having the kid whose entire existence was thanks to chemical abuse calling him out on smoking didn't escape his notice. "I don't do this very often either, you know. I'd get just as much shit for this as you would."

"True. I won't tell anyone that you sneak onto the roof to smoke, if you don't tell anyone about this. And I do mean 'anyone'." He gestured to all of himself with the hand holding the joint, tapping on the head phones for emphasis. Now that it was brought to his attention, Invisi Billy didn't think he wanted to know how Holt would react to this information. The other half had a bit of a temper that would surely be set off if he found out he could be shut down by a little weed.

"No need to even say it. Your secret's safe with me," Then as an afterthought, "I wouldn't want to lose my new lighter because he got expelled, after all."

"Ha ha. Very funny." Jackson rolled his eyes, shut the music off and put the joint out. He stuffed the remains into the fifth pocket of his jeans and hopped down from his perch on top of the access door. "But sure, why not. It's not like I get to play with it all that often."

Invisi Billy nodded in sympathy. Controlling his own ability was hard enough, but at least his was always "on" when he wanted it to be.

He considered what life would be like to need chemical assistance just to do something that should be a birthright.

"Why don't you, I don't know, tell your parents or, something?" Invisi Billy waved a hand toward the world at large, not really being comfortable asking something so personal of someone he only knew in a fringe friend of a friend way.

"Both my parents are kind of hard to talk to," Jackson said, making a pinched face as though remembering something unpleasant. "At least, when it comes to the family eccentricities anyway. Mom really doesn't like to talk about it and Dad just doesn't get it."

The last of Invisi Billies cigarette burned down and he crushed the butt under his heel. "I guess having a mixed family can make things complicated, huh."

"Yep." The reply came back a bit more sharp, more focused sounding than Jackson had been a moment ago.

Invisi Billy wondered at the seemingly fast rate at which the other boy was coming out of his drug induced calm, but he figured he could always ask another time. The break was almost over and any moment Rochelle would come around on her route looking to herd stragglers to their classes.

Jackson had just opened the door when a curious thought entered Invisi Billy's mind.

"So, is pot the only way you can," and here he stumbled over what to call whatever it was that had been going on with the dissociative, "whatever this is." He pointed the headphones.

"Well, no." Jackson sounded hesitant to go on, but eventually gave up a bit more. "There is one other way that I've noticed. At least for the fire power anyway, not the music."

"Then why don't you do that more often? Is it even more illegal then the joint?"

"No." He licked his lips and almost seemed sad about it. "Actually, I'd love to do it more often, but the problem is, when I do that, I have a really hard time controlling it. It's embarrassing enough just watching Heath setting himself a blaze. I don't want to be the guy who accidentally burned down the whole school, or worse, who burned off all his own clothes."

"I suppose not. That would be humiliating." They walked into the hallway, making sure the door locked properly behind them. Invisi Billy would also have ask how Jackson got the door open without the key. But the kid was scary smart, it wasn't too much a stretch of the imagination that he figured out how to pick the lock.

"Well, I've got class. Catch you later." With that promise made, Jackson disappeared down the stairs, leaving Invisi Billy to reflect on all that he had just learned and how in the course of a fifteen minute break all his preconceived notions about one Jackson Jekyll had just been turned on their head.

He smirked at the strangeness before stuffing his hands in his pocket and sauntering off to his own class, fading out as he did so. That boy was full of interesting little secrets. This was looking to be an interesting friendship.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This story was all on it's own program and is in no way related to the first two chapters. Most stories, when I get around to writing them, will be
> 
> unrelated to each other unless other wise stated. I do have a follow up for this one planned, in case anyone wonders what the other thing is. It might
> 
> be awhile before it is written though, school and work have sucked the life out of me. Also, the title is bad, I'll go stand in the corner now and repent.


	4. PepperJack

"I don't know about this." Manny looked out into the creepateria, nervously eyeing all the monsters that could very well become extremely angry at them if they got caught.

"Quit being a whiner. It'll be funny. It's not like it'll kill him." Heath waved off his bloody's concern.

Manny shifted uncomfortably and risked another glance over at Frankie. She seemed harmless at first, but he'd learned his lesson about picking on those she considered friends.

Heath huffed in annoyance and shoved a clawculus notebook into Manny's hands. "Just go distract him like we talked about. I promise, it'll be funny."

Manny looked down at the notebook and grunted. He really didn't want to do this, and not just because of the possible fallout afterwards if they were caught.

He also didn't want to spend his lunch listening to the normie prattle on about math. Lunch was suppose to be a break from all that crap. But on the other hand, if Heath was right it could be funny, and he was always up for a good laugh.

"All right, I'm going. But I better not get into trouble for this." If he missed his date tonight with Iris because he got stoned by a pissed off gorgon, he was going to have to stomp his friend into mush. He told Heath this as he got up to leave, but the fire elemental just waved him off, more occupied with fishing the little jar of Hell's Inferno Hot Sauce (for those who like is scorching) out of his bag.

Manny took a deep breath and swallowed his pride, then purposely stalked over to the table with his target. Seriously, what was he even suppose to say? It's not like he usually bothered to ask for help with his schoolwork.

He decided on the direct approach.

"Hey, you. Do this problem for me." And he shoved the notebook into Jackson's face.

"What? No. Do your own homework." Manny had kind of expected that reaction. He wasn't completely dense, he had noticed the boy tended to be more forceful when he was surrounded by his friends and currently the table was occupied by three other monsters, two of whom could do some serious damage if provoked.

Manny grunted and off to the side Heath motioned him to go on as the elemental slinked up to the table. Everyone's eyes were on Manny, so Heath went unnoticed as he crept closer.

"Fine. Then tell me how to do it." Manny demanded. Jackson gave him a squinted glare, his whole face pinched like he had just sucked on something sour.

Clearly trying to decide if passing on knowledge was worth dealing with Manny's bullheaded antics in the process. After a second of debate, the look changed to mildly put upon and he took the notebook.

"Fine, but it wouldn't kill you to ask nicer next time. Which problem do you need help with?"

Huh, what do you know, Heath was right. The boy did take the bait. Speaking of Heath, the elemental was discreetly sliding his cousin's tray over and had pulled out the bottle of hot sauce.

"Are you even paying any attention? I'm not helping you if you aren't serious about this." Jackson's annoyed tone drew Manny's attention back to the equation.

"I'm listening." And now he was. If he kept sneaking looks to what his friend was doing, it would give them both away.

The funny thing was, as he listened, he suddenly found that the problem made a lot more sense then it had before. For the moment, he forgot about Heath and super spicy, fire elemental brand hot sauce and, for once in his life, understood math.

Heath was starting to get impatient. He had doused Jackson's burger with the hot sauce and returned to his own table like ten minutes ago and Manny was still at the table doing math problems. Finally, finally, the Minotaur got up and lumbered back over. He eyes were wide and he seemed lost in his own head. He mused that maybe it was just a side-effect of spending too much time talking with a Jekyll.

"What the hell took you so long to get back? I was worried lunch would end before he had time to actually eat anything. Then the whole thing would have been wasted effort."

"I should have asked for help sooner. I get it now. I actually understand it. And it was all so easy."

"What are you going on about?"

Manny just continued to look stunned. Heath rolled his eyes, took a bite of his own lunch and turned his attention to his cousin who was just picking up his burger for the first time. Heath smirked and tugged on Manny's jacket.

"Watch, watch. He's going to eat it."

Manny looked to the table, a momentarily confused looked on his face, then turned away. "I don't know. I don't think we should have done that." He sounded ashamed. But before Heath could reply a voice interrupted.

"Shouldn't have done what?" And Invisi Billy materialized right behind them, making them both jump slightly.

"Don't do that!" Heath's shout caused the creepateria to go still as everyone turned to stare at him. Seeing it was just Heath and Invisi Billy, they quickly turned back to their own conversations, but it was enough a distraction to temporarily halt the impending doom across the floor. Jackson had put the burger down again without having any. Heath sighed in disappointment.

"You haven't answered my question. What did you do?" Invisi Billy asked, accusation heavy in his voice.

"Nothing that bad. Just a little prank on my cousin. He'll be fine."

Now Invisi Billy really was curious. He had come to think of the humanish half as a good friend and hanging out on the roof smoking was becoming something he looked forward to. Even if they didn't always smoke anything. For this reason he leveled Heath with a glare that demanded further explanation on the prank.

Heath gave a nervous laugh. "It's like this. Jackson hates spicy food. Can't stand it, doesn't even eat food that was near anything with hot sauce. Right?"

"Go on," Invisi Billy said, having a bad feeling about where this was going.

"So anyway," Heath continued, "I got my hands on this really awesome hot sauce made with these special peppers that are like hotter than the sun. Stuff is delicious, but then I watched this video of this kid eating spicy food for the first time and man that was funny. So I figured I'd give everyone a good laugh."

Invisi Billy paled, which had the strange effect of making his cheeks go transparent while the rest of him stayed visible. He turned to Jackson's table just in time to watch the unsuspecting boy take a large bite out of his burger.

Manny whimpered and slouched in his seat, guilt written all over him, Heath leaned forward in anticipation and Invisi Billy opened his mouth to shout out to his friend to stop, but it was too late.

Whatever Heath thought Jackson's reaction would be, it wasn't what actually happened. There was no shouting or fanning his mouth. There was no mad dash to guzzle down water. Hell, Jackson didn't even spit the food out.

No, instead he became very still and slowly put the burger back on the plate so he could lift the top bun off and study the extra condiment on it. The other boys at the table seemed concerned, having noticed his sudden odd behavior. But all Jackson did was stand up and calmly leave the creepateria.

"Oh man, that was disappointing. I thought for sure he'd spaz out." Heath said this just loud enough to draw the attention of Deuce, Clawd, and Gil away from the compromised burger and over to himself.

Invisi Billy and Manny both pointed to Heath, giving him up. Invisi Billy faded out, grabbed up a carton of milk and headed out after his friend, just as the three boys made their way over to a suddenly very anxious Heath. Invisi Billy did not stick around to watch.

While he may have left the creepateria calmly, Jackson must have bolted as soon as the doors had closed, because he was nowhere to be found in the hall.

Invisi Billy looked up and down, seeing neither Hyde nor hair of him anywhere. Now he knew how everyone else must feel when he disappeared on them.

He was about to go left and check the bathrooms, when he noticed that the end of the hall on the right was a bit hazy. Almost smoky. He took a chance and followed it.

It was definitely smoke, he could smell it as he got closer and once he turned the corner toward the back door it started to get heavier.

He frowned as he left the building because once outside the smoke had cleared away and he wasn't sure were to go anymore. Hell, he wasn't entirely sure this was related to Jackson anyway, but a comment from their first meeting came back to him.

He was just rounding the corner heading toward the skullball field when he had to dive to the ground to avoid the massive fire ball that shot overhead and exploded in a bush, leaving a pile of ash in the shrubbery's place.

He peeked cautiously around the corner in time to see Jackson plop down on the ground, panting. There was steam coming out of his mouth and nose and there was a swath of chard grass two feet wide and five feet long in front of him.

Oh, so that was the other thing.

Jackson flopped over onto his back and lay spread eagle in the blackened mess of the yard he had created. He chuckled a little and as Invisi Billy moved closer he could make out tiny tongues of flames dancing past the boys lips with each breath. Which was kind of really cool to watch and kind of really odd. Much like the boy himself.

Invisi Billy walked over to him, but waited to materialized until he was standing over Jackson.

"Hey." Jackson said, rather casually given the situation.

"Yo." Invisi Billy answered. "I brought you some milk, but I'm guessing you don't really need it."

"Not really, but I'll still take it." He sat up and held out his hand, accepting the offered drink, guzzling it down and sighing contentedly. More steam came out his mouth after, but that seemed to be the last of the flames.

Invisi Billy looked around at the damage and winced, his imagination provided him with the reactions of the staff and worse still, the reaction of Venus, when this was discovered.

"So, what are you going to tell people when they see this." He gestured to the smoldering earth and missing bush.

"I'll tell them the truth. Heath did it."

Well, Invisi Billy thought, it was mostly true if you looked at it from a certain angle. Still, Jackson was the last person most would expect to throw someone under the bus to save his own skin. Of course, one small problem.

"I don't know how well that will work out. I'm pretty sure everyone just saw Heath getting his just desserts in the creepateria. I'd like to think we're smart enough around here to figure out he couldn't do this when he's busy being a statue."

"You'd like to think that, wouldn't you. But you forget, he's well known for getting into mischief. People expect him to do something like this on accident. No one expects it from me. I probably won't even have to say anything. They'll just assume."

"Yeah, but isn't it a little bit evil to let your cousin take the fall."

"He covered my burger in hot sauce that is illegal to sell to non fire elementals," Jackson said matter of factly. He brought a finger to his mouth and licked off a bit of the sauce that had slopped unto his hand. "It's pretty good actually. Nice flavor."

"Okay, I'll let you have that one. But only if he doesn't get into too much trouble for it. Deal?"

Jackson grunted and stood up.

"Deal, but only because it sounds like he's getting punished already."

Invisi Billy figured that was good enough. It wasn't like Jackson didn't have to put up with a lot of unfair treatment himself.

"Think you're okay to head back in?"

"Maybe." He burped a small burst of fire that made his eyes go crossed for a split second. "Maybe not."

Invisi Billy checked his watch. There was still fifteen minutes left of lunch. He could easily slip back in and grab them both something tamer to eat. And maybe there'd be enough time for a quick smoke.

He suggested this to Jackson who smiled and sat back down, leaning against the school.

"That sounds good," he said. "And thanks, you know, for checking on me. And not telling anyone."

"Well, you are my favorite lighter." They both smirked at the joke. Someday, maybe, Jackson would be comfortable with more monsters knowing about his little talent and Invisi Billy knew he'd love the shocked looks on all their faces, but for now he enjoyed being the only one in the know. It was definitely a lot more fun that way.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> In my head cannon, this is the reason Jackson doesn't like spicy food. Now, onto the next random story line.


	5. By Any Other Name

Deuce, Clawd, and Heath all smiled as wide and as with as much fake innocence as they could muster, which was actually quite a bit despite the fact that they did have genuinely innocent intentions.

"Good morning Dr. J. Can Jackson or Holt come out to play?" They all asked in unison. From the door way Jackson's mom tried her best to keep a straight face as she played along.

"Only if you promise to be home before dark."

"Awww." And they all pouted miserably at which point she lost the battle and descended into giggles.

"Come on in," she said, once she had calmed down. "It's been quiet all morning so I'm assuming it's Jackson that's upstairs. Either way, he's been locked in his room since he got home from school Friday."

They all froze momentarily at this. Dr. Jekyll placed a hand on Heath's should and stared in straight in the eye.

"You have permission to drag him bodily out of the house." She added, giving a shifty eyed

glance up to the second floor.

"You mean they've been up there for most of the weekend? That can't be healthy," Heath said, pulling a face.

"Jackson said something about a new online game. I'm sure he's fine." She waved off the concern, having long since grown accustomed to her child's eccentricities. As long as his grades didn't slip and there were no fatalities, she was fine with letting him do what he pleased for the most part. Still, it wasn't healthy to stay locked up that long.

"I'm heading out to the store. Good luck."

The three boys headed up the stairs with her blessing and made their way to their friend's room. Knocking received no answer however, so Clawd pressed an ear to the door. The muffled sounds of digital fighting greeted him, so with a shrug he opened the door.

What awaited them on the other side was a room cast in shadows that danced eerily along the walls in the glow of the computer screen. The window shades had been drawn tightly shut and the smell of dead, musty air wafted out at them.

Suddenly nervous, they found themselves not sure if they should proceed onward. Heath ducked behind Deuce and gave him a nudge.

"You go first. He's your beast friend."

Deuce's snakes hissed at him in retaliation. "Yeah, but you're his cousin. Blood before bros."

Clawd huffed and, making a show of it, stormed into the room.

No reaction from the boy sitting at the computer desk other then to continue his frantic mouse clicking. The light of the screen casting a glare over his glasses, making the whole image creepier. Actually, now that he was closer, Jackson was using the mouse with one had and was rapidly typing keyboard commands with the other. Who knew he was ambidextrous?

"Hey man, we were going to hang out at the park, shoot some hoops. Thought maybe you'd like to join us."

He received a noncommittal grunt in reply. The other two had taken courage from him and finally entered the room on their own. Clawd turned to Heath and gestured toward the boy at the computer.

Heath shrugged. This was the first time he'd ever seen his cousin like this and he had no idea how to proceed. Deuce went to the window and wrenched the shade up; light spilled into the room.

Jackson's reaction was swift and panicked. He threw an arm up over his eyes and hisses like an angry cat.

"Bright light! Bright light!"

"And just for that, I'm not letting you eat after midnight the next time we throw an all-nighter at my place. Now come on you little gremlin, fresh air and sunlight miss you," Clawd said. He grabbed the back of the desk chair and began to pull Jackson away from the computer, the other boy still grasping tightly onto the mouse.

"But I'm really close to leveling up," he whined.

Heath looked at the screen and gave a low whistle.

"How long have you been playing? There's no way you made it this far in just one weekend. Unless," Heath trailed off and looked at his cousin, really looked at him. Jackson looked a few pounds thinner than usual, his skin had gone almost zombie colored, and his eyes were wide and bloodshot.

"Have you been playing non stop since Friday afternoon?"

"Maybe."

"Dude, that settles it. You're coming with us, no excuses." Deuce leveled Jackson with a look that threatened the use of physical force if demands weren't meet.

"But first," Clawd said, pulling the mouse out of Jackson's hand and hoisting the boy, chair and all, up, "you are going to take a shower. You stink."

And with that he carried Jackson into the adjoined bathroom, leaving Deuce and Heath instructions to find some clean clothes. A moment later water could be heard running, shortly after that a scream that was a cross between drenched cat and banshee issued out of the bathroom. Clawd flung himself out the door, the chair sailing after him.

"If you don't want a cold shower then do it yourself next time!" Clawd slammed the door just as steam started to drift out.

By the time Jackson was done cleaning himself up, Heath and Deuce had managed to find the necessities as well as a t-shirt and a pair of cargo shorts that might have belonged to Holt. There were flaming yin yangs on them, so it was hard to tell.

Jackson stumbled out the bathroom, squinty eyed and lurching, whether from lack of sleep or just not having his glasses none of them could tell just yet. He stared at the clothes on the bed, turned to his friends, then violently pointed out to the hallway.

"Get out." His voice was hard with a sense of finality to it. They quickly left.

"I saved your place and logged you out," Heath called over his shoulder.

When Jackson finally emerged he seemed in a better mood, though still shuffling about with his eyes half closed. Definitely, it was lack of sleep.

"Maybe we should grab a coffee before we hit the park. You going to make it down the stairs in one piece," Deuce asked, grasping Jackson's arm, just in case he toppled over were he stood.

"That might be a good idea," Jackson nodded. He let them guide him down the steps and into the kitchen, were he rooted through the cabinets, pulling out a can of ground coffee. They watched in horror as he pour three parts ground bean to one part water into the coffee maker.

"Um, are you sure you're okay," Heath asked, as a thick sludge oozed into the coffee pot. "Maybe we should let you sleep for a few hours and come back later."

"Nah, I'm fine."

The coffee pot made a tortured sound as it finished. Jackson grabbed the pot and chugged half of it, still scalding hot. Almost instantly he perked up.

"Okay, I'm ready to go."

The three monsters stared at him, nauseated and more then a little worried.

"Are you sure? That stuff you just drank looked like tar," Deuce said.

"Yeah, I'm good. Though I should probably get something to eat or I'll pay for that later. Let's stop somewhere on the way."

"Sounds good to me." Heath headed for the door, ready to get out and have some fun now that their last member had joined them.

JJ

Several hours later and Deuce flopped down on a bench, taking a break to soak up some sun, the heat making him feel pleasantly sleepily.

Beside him Heath stretched his arms out then chugged some water before he spontaneously combusted, a problem that occasionally occurred when the fire elemental overheated. On the court Clawd and Jackson continued with some one on one, the human boy holding his own fairly well.

Deuce watched idly as Clawd sunk another basket, panting hard from exertion and afternoon heat. Jackson was breathing hard too, but unlike Clawd, the heat never really seemed to bother him. He hadn't even broken a sweat yet.

It was at this pointed that the thought hit Deuce hard, taking root in the forefront of his mind and not letting go.

"We really should come up with a better word for what you are," he said, just loud enough for everyone to hear.

"What do you mean?" Jackson asked, genuine confusion written all over his face. Distracted from the game, the ball bounced off the side of his head hard, knocking his glasses loose. Jackson glared at Clawd as retrieved the fallen frames, but otherwise seemed unharmed. The ball shot off across the court from the force of the rebound.

"I mean that no actual normie could be out here in this heat, keeping pace with a werewolf in casketball, and not break out into a sweat," he pointed out. "That hit just now should have broken your neck and let's not forget the boiling hot toxic nightmare fuel you drank this morning before we left your house. That probably would have killed you if you were a real normie."

"Are you saying I'm, what, fake somehow? I'm as a real a normie as any other human."

"No, Deuce is right man," Clawd interjected, returning with the ball, "That was messed up."

"It was just coffee."

"No, coffee is a beverage. That stuff was an eldrich abomination."

"Fine, for the sake of conversation, what would call me then." He crossed his arms and raised an eyebrow in challenge.

"A nerd," Heath said. Jackson swatted him upside the head.

"That's it, I'm not tutoring you anymore."

Heath paled and gulped. "Seriously? I was joking. Joking. Come on, if I fail Clawculus my parents aren't going to let me take my driver's test." He dropped to his knees and begged.

Jackson rolled his eyes. "Not my problem."

Heath stalled up at this, eyes pleading with Deuce and Clawd to help him out. They snickered, but otherwise made no move to interfere.

Heath turned toward his cousin and tentatively added, "I'm sorry?" Then, for added sugar, "You're cool, really."

"Yeah, okay, whatever."

Deuce laughed a little before restating the problem.

"I really don't see what it matters. I mean, I'm not a monster. I don't have powers or unusual features."

"Yes, you do." Clawd said. "I don't know too many people who can literally become someone else."

"Eh, but I'm not me anymore when that happens, so it doesn't count." Jackson said, shrugging the matter to the side. "Look, I don't see whats the matter with just calling me human or normie or whatever. If it fits, it fits."

"Yeah guys, who cares," Heath said, he was getting antsy to play some more and growing tired of the conversation.

"How about abnormal." Clawd suggested, completely ignoring Heath.

"No." Jackson said, looking irritated now.

"Peculiar." Deuce threw out.

"Stop it."

"How about strange."

Jackson gave a violent, full-bodied twitch.

"How about just Jackson," he suggested, gabbing the ball from Clawd and backing up on to the court. "Now can we drop it and finish our game. Or are you afraid I'm going to make you look bad." He spun the ball on the tip of one figure and smirked.

Clawd growled, "Them's fighting words. Bring in on Hydebrid."

Everyone froze. After a moments contemplation, Deuce shrugged, "Yeah, that works."

Jackson rolled his eyes with a deep, weary sigh. "Whatever. Let's just play some ball."

"Hey," Clawd said, suddenly changing the subject, "Why don't we get a bite to eat at the Die-ner after this. Draculaura's working tonight."

"Sounds good to me," Heath chimed in, always in the mood for good food.

"Yeah, alright. I love their poisonberry pie," Jackson said, offhandedly as they headed back to the court.

Yeah, Deuce thought to himself, his friend was most definitely anything but 'normal'.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Bah, normal is subjective anyway. Not much to say here, just some shenanigans. 
> 
> I forgot I hadn't posted this chapter here. Um, better late than never.

**Author's Note:**

> I don't know, maybe just two weeks was a bit lenient. But in my defense, in the canon characters often get away with a lot worse.
> 
> One of my favorite classic stories is The Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde. So there are many things about the common interpretation that irk me. To set the record straight: Dr. Jekyll was a dick, the elixir did exactly what it was suppose to do, Edward Hyde was not a split personality and he didn't turn into the hulk or otherwise gain super strength. Having said that, Mattel clearly went with the very common misinterpretation of the character when coming up with Jackson and his family, so I'll play with what was given to me. I'll just pretend that the inconsistencies have to do with it be an inherited problem over many generations.
> 
> I like the doll characterization more than the webisode version, but I try to go for a mix of both in story. In any case, the doll dairies heavily imply his mom goes all She-Hulk whenever she gets really pissed off, but neither Jackson nor Holt are said/shown to possess that trait. Since they gave Holt the fire abilities, where did that other trait go, hmm? Ah, so many fun possibilities to play with when it comes to this character. I want to play with them all. I probably will.


End file.
